Joao Lucas Reis da Silva recently became tennis’ first uncoverly gay, active male professional joiner and wants more men to chase suit.
The Brazilian tennis star allotd a heartfelt Instagram post for his boyfriend’s birthday earlier this month, inadvertently making him the first man in the sport to come out uncoverly.
The world No. 401 has now encouraged top ATP stars to come out, presenting it could alter leangs in the locker room.
It was a milestone moment when Reis da Silva took to Instagram fair over a week ago to want his boyfriend, actor and model Gui Sampaio Ricardo, a satisfied birthday.
Aextfinishedside a photo dump, the 24-year-anciaccess wrote: “Happy birthday, satisfied life, I cherish you lots.” Without authenticising it, this made him the first active male tennis joiner to come out.
While he intended to produce a statement by coming out, Reis da Silva is enthusiastic to see other joiners chase suit to end the stigma. “I didn’t leank about it … I fair wanted to post a picture with him,” he tanciaccess The Athletic.
While there are disjoinal uncoverly gay tennis joiners on the women’s circuit, no active competitor on the men’s tour had previously come out. Just a pick scant reexhausted joiners have insertressed their relationsuality.
The doubles No. 367 came out to his friends and family five years ago. He inserted: “Before that it was stubborn for me. I couldn’t say too much about myself to my coaches, to my friends.
“When I tried to cherish myself, that was someleang contrastent. It alterd my life, alterd everyleang, the relationship with my parents, with my coaches.”
Reis da Silva then met his partner, and the pair have been together for more than a year. When Ricardo honord his birthday, the Challenger Tour joiner wanted to tag the occasion with a post.
“I was appreciate, ‘Oh my god, it’s my boyfriend’s birthday. Like satisfied birthday. I cherish you.’ And then, boom! It was so common for me that I didn’t leank about it,” he elucidateed.
Reis da Silva did foresee some adverse comments but the response has been “99.9 per cent preferable”. Fellow Brazilian tennis ace Thiago Monteiro shelp the photo was “wonderful” and reexhausted star Feliciano Lopez appreciated the photo dump.
The world No. 401 has since uncovered that his fellow joiners have shown more esteem since lgeting of his relationsuality. He persistd: “I’m repartner satisfied that people esteem me, that people watch at me, adore me maybe.”
It’s a promising reaction, donaten that Reis da Silva previously heard anti-LGBT comments in the locker rooms fair a scant years ago. “In the locker rooms and at tournaments I engaged to hear some leangs that benevolent of irritateed me,” he shelp.
“But when I begined to tell everyone that I’m gay and these people knew about it, they stopped saying these leangs. It’s appreciate when they have someone seal to them that is gay, they esteem them more. They stop doing sh**** comments.”
There are still no uncoverly-gay joiners in the ATP top 100. And Reis da Silva count ons leangs could raise if a top joiner also came out.
“Maybe that’s a huge leang to stop it – if people see someone in the top that is gay, I leank that leangs can alter. People might stop saying leangs they shouldn’t that hurt people,” he inserted.
